Members of UAW Local 668 are celebrating a century of manufacturing at Saginaw Metal Castings Operations in Saginaw, Michigan. Workers at the company, which supplies parts for General Motors vehicles, have processed 45 million tons of iron and 2 billion pounds of aluminum over the past hundred years. The plant currently employs 476 workers, including members of UAW Local 668 and IAM Lodge 2839.

The UAW has one goal: support the U.S. worker in all aspects of their professions. That includes involvement in U.S. trade policy decisions where our overarching focus is creating good paying U.S. jobs — now and in the future.

International Youth Day was first coined by the United Nations General Assembly in 1999, and now the 12th day of August serves as an annual celebration of the role of young women and men as essential partners in change, and an opportunity to raise awareness of challenges and problems facing the world’s youth.

It’s no surprise that UAW members, who are known for bringing awareness to challenges faced in their communities, also empower and help youth across the nation. Today we take a look at some of the times UAW members were essential partners in change for our nation’s children:

The first Sunday in August is National Sisters Day, and your opportunity to show your appreciation for that unique bond only sisters can understand. What better way to celebrate than joining with your fellow union sisters in the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW)?

On March 24, 1974, over 3,000 determined labor union women and supportive feminists from across the United States convened in Chicago to create the Coalition of Labor Union Women (CLUW). The UAW was a founding supporter of CLUW, which elected then-UAW Vice President Olga Madar as its first president.

Walter Reuther can be said to have done more for more American workers than any other leader in the labor movement. He spent his life ensuring American workers have a voice at the table with management, a voice still exercised today by workers in contract negotiations that will affect millions of working families.

“The over $150 million investment in Flint rewards GM’s production and skilled trades workers for the quality Full-Size Pickups they produce. Under the direction of Director Gerald Kariem of UAW Region 1D, Flint GM workers in the past year have secured 1,000 additional jobs which reflect the hard work of UAW members as they build heavy duty Chevy and GMC pickup trucks.”

"While the UAW welcomes the $700 million in Ohio investment outside of Lordstown, Ohio, it is not forgotten that UAW members, their families and citizens in the Mahoning Valley invested in General Motors in its darkest days to allow for the record profits that GM is making in recent years. The people of the Mahoning Valley deserve a solid, secure job investment that no start-up, dependent on federal contracts, can bring to the Valley. UAW members and the community deserve a GM product investment at Lordstown."